Not "peri" impressed...
1.
You work at a haunted mansion, and it’s time for the office holiday party. You get your boss, Dracula, for Secret Santa, AGAIN. What gift (under $25) do you get him? My answer would probably be: bronzer. Although this card game, intended to start peculiar, truly one-of-a-kind conversations, recently caught my eye, and would probably be the perfect standby gift for just about anyone.
2.
I really loved how well this recent NY Times piece about the newfound rush of (post-pandemic) run-ins reflected my own zig-zagging feelings. For the writer, these unexpected and brief encounters induce an energizing frisson. For others, they draw out all sorts of mixed emotions. And for some, like comedian Josh Gondelman, they can be sufficiently satisfying in a somewhat noncommittal way: “Sometimes you don’t need a whole phone call or carefully orchestrated hangout. You just want that 90 seconds of proving to each other you’re both still alive”
3.
Between the resurgence of all things 90’s-era and Britney Spears’ newfound freedom, I’ve had catchy pop anthems from that decade in my head on repeat these past few weeks. The timing around our collective nostalgia seems pretty opportune for Max Martin, the songwriter and producer whose work arguably defined that decade and the years following. Last month Martin reopened his new West End musical, & Juliet, which sets a familiar love story against a soundtrack of the pop king’s greatest hits. I have no timeline for my next visit to London, but I think it’s likely sooner than a dreamed-up Britney x Backstreet Boys x Katy Perry x Justin Timberlake group tour…
4.
Earlier this week Pantone presented the world with “Very Peri,” its designated color for 2022, and I don’t want to be a debbie downer, but…the company keeps referring to the shade as a “warm” and “happy” hue of blue. BLUE. And yet, I’ve looked at the color on multiple screens and devices and it’s purple, no? Obviously that doesn’t change the messaging and intentionalism behind the all-new shade, which was created to represent “courageous creativity,” optimism and the future, which I’ll welcome in droves (they should market daily multivitamins in the shade), but it raises an interesting point around color theory and how subjective processing. What do you all think? Is it purple, or is it blue?
5.
I’m trying to be better in general about describing individuals and their work to that of others (“she/is like a cross between XX and YY”), because it can come off as reductive and sometimes a bit lazy, but here’s one very compelling (and shockingly overdue) argument for why we should all stop comparing women in the food industry to Julia Child.